With hundreds of thousands of travel itineraries canceled due to the current mandatory “Stay at Home” quarantines across the world, how does a weary traveler like myself indulge my curiosities and the need to explore and learn?
Many digital venues who are otherwise closed, for now, have opened their doors virtually to keep guests engaged and inspired during a time when we have many extra hours available.
Start with your passions.
Love animals? Zoo’s and aquariums in places you maybe were going to visit or never thought about going, are offering virtual and live tours for you to explore and learn about their animals. You can even take a virtual field trip if you have children that are home and bored to make it educational.
Are you missing the beach? Many beach communities have local restaurants on the beach with webcams, as do hotels in tropical locations and town websites, where you can watch the ocean, the palm trees or even take virtual bike rides. Make yourself a boat drink and enjoy the serenity without leaving your couch. So decide which beach, no towel or swimsuit required.
Is History or art your thing? Museums throughout the world are offering virtual tours, classes and experiences related to their otherwise closed facilities. Even the Vatican has an online tour. Want to broaden your experience, try Google Arts and Culture which can be your key to explore collections from around the world by taking a street view tour.
Is live Music your groove? Quarantine live streams are happening daily with free concerts from some of your favorite and possibly some new favorites for you to explore. National Public Radio is offering live concerts and podcasts with hundreds of hours of options. Is an opera on your bucket list, but you haven’t got there yet? Get dressed up, and watch from your living room. Every genre from Jazz and Rock to Country and folk can be found on NPR.org. Zoom, Skype or FaceTime a friend and enjoy the experience together.
If travel is your passion and you are feeling stuck, you can create your dream itinerary and spend each day exploring the cities on google maps, entering the venues you find to see what secret experiences you can reveal.
Stay safe, stay healthy and thank you for staying home!!!
The Expert BucketLister 